For the Tender Buttons book assignment I was really excited to explore different binding techniques, but wasn't sure, how "far out" I could go, but here I go.

For the format I would like each spread be able to be the the most of 8.5"x11" just because of cost and how much I enjoy a smaller, more intimate piece rather than something that would hurt your harms to hold it out and read. I think I'm going in more of the idea of a traditional format with it being slimmer going vertically, rather than horizontally, and rather than it being a square. I've found some nice paper from the art store, it's reeves, and I was thinking of tearing the pages out, rather than precisely cutting each page, not just because it comes in large pieces, but also for the aesthetic that it comes with. I remember buying books when I was younger and how much I liked the books that had all the pages being different sizes. The were mostly for diary related books, so all of these poems from Gertrud Stein took me to that "diary" feeling with her poems.

I've discovered different binding techniques from researching and here are a few that I'm considering, although after going over them in class it may change.

1. A hard back with a hard back box inside that the poems are contained in. Similar to a Tarot card box...not that it has any association with the poems, but it's similar to putting thoughts and such in a box. I'd bind the paper back book inside either with perfect bind, or a bind similar to a moleskin.

2. A bind that has two hard back boards, but no hard spine, so that the fabric that is glued to the boards hold's the pages together.

3. Envelops. with either way of binding above I thought it would be interesting for the inside of the book to have a twist. I'm thinking about the idea of having 13 different envelops with each spread inside for the reader to discover. This then would change the layout of my book, but only to the envelop form, and it would still be 8.5"x11", just the cover size would change.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

For my first find, I found this Andrew Bird poster by: Paper Music, found on Poster Cabaret.
Personification is used by having the heard in the United States, and therefore it's adding a human quality to an "inanimate" object. ( I was kind of confused to reference the United States as an inanimate object, but for this I felt it was appropriate).

for the next one: An art print by Invisible Creature.
I thought of this one as being hyperbole, because after reading all sorts of different definitions given, I read that finally it was an exaggeration. So there for in this print the bike is being splattered all over, saying that it's been ridden A LOT. Enough for it to fall apart, so an exaggeration.

Here is my and Ray's mood board made for Joe Lovano, "us five". It was pretty fun making the mood board with someone else, because we each got to put our efforts in. Ray brought something to the table that I wouldn't have thought about, and I did the same for him.

We wanted to really concentrate on the color, due the music being colorful. all the random imagery had a lot of rhetoric attached.

After finishing both readings that were assigned it was interesting to see how differently they were written. One was quite straight forward in it's words and how it rhetoric was described, and one was questioning things more, really tearing rhetoric apart, and trying to figure things out.
In Meggs article there was a quote that was said by Hanno Ehses, "Broadly defined, rhetoric is the art that deals with the use of spoken or written discourse. Its object is eloquence, which is defined as effective speech. According to Aristotle, its concern is with 'discovering all the available means of persuasion in any given situation' either to inform (rational appeal), to delight and win over (ethical appeal) or to move (emotional appeal) an audience." I found this quote interesting because sometimes not all graphic design, or advertisements are any of those means of persuasion. Some are down right wrong, and send messages that the public could do with out. Such as, the typical fast food advertising. I can't see fast food advertisements being rational, ethical, or emotional. Maybe I'm thinking of it in the wrong way though. I'm thinking of this as more of the position of the graphic designer. So, making advertisements for McDonald's doesn't seem like a very ethical thing, because everyone knows that a McDonald's double cheeseburger and large fries can't be good for your insides. I could also be bitter, because I support those advertisements by visiting McDonald's every so often. It was also nice to have all the definitions right in front of me about all the different types of rhetoric there are.
Moving on to the Bonsiepe reading...
Within this article I found some of the points made were a bit of my head, and I had to read them a few times to really "get it". I really enjoyed how Bonsiepe brought some familiar definitions about semantics. It was nice to see the bridge being made between the two things we've learned. Rhetoric is semantics for the most part. All of the things involved are either indexes, symbols, or icons. Thinking of rhetoric in this way makes me really want to revisit all the things we did last spring semester, and figure out how I even thought about signs. One part did really get me going, "huh?" which was When Bonsiepe starts talking about how certain designers are "blinded by their effort to impart objective information. They cannot reconcile themselves to the idea that advertising is addressed information, and that its information content is often secondary if it plays any role at all." I can read what it's saying, but I can't really digest it.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Origin: Born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 29th, 1952
- Very musical household, almost everyone was involved with music one way or the other.
- Started playing alto sax at the age of 5 while a couple years later moving into a tenor sax.
- Attended Berklee College of Music in Boston and shortly after graduation made his recording debut with organ master Lonnie Smith and worked with Jack McDuff.
- Joined Woody Herman’s band shortly after.
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-Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987), known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders. His bands basically played jazz and blues, often including rather experimental material for their time.

- "Brother" Jack McDuff (September 17, 1926-January 23, 2001) Born Eugene McDuffy in Champaign, Illinois, McDuff began playing bass, appearing in Joe Farrell's group. Encouraged by Willis Jackson in whose band he also played bass in the late 50s, McDuff moved to the organ and began to attract the attention of Prestige Records while still with Jackson's group. McDuff soon became a bandleader, leading groups featuring a young George Benson, Red Holloway on saxophone and Joe Dukes on drums, often performing with an organ trio.

- Dr. Lonnie Smith was born in Lackawanna, New York, (just outside of Buffalo), into a family with a vocal group and radio program. Smith says that his mother was a major influence on him musically, as she introduced him to gospel, classical, and jazz music. He was part of several vocal ensembles in the 1950s, including the Teen Kings. Art Kubera, the owner of a local music store, gave Smith his first organ, a Hammond B3.

-Folk Art is his 22nd album with his record label Blue Note.
- Jazz Times named Folk Art, “Album of the year.”
-Lovano broke both arms in two different accidents at the end of the year in 2009 that costed their tour to be post poned.

Band Members:
- Pianist is James Weidman which is know to be a veratan and has worked with Lovano before.
- Bassist is Ezperanza Spalding who is a rising star in the world of jazz. She is 25, and also teaches at Berklee.
- Drummer: Otis Brown is a new comer in the scene
- 2nd Drummer: Francisco Mela.
- The reason for two drummers is because it makes things more dynamic, and more interesting.
-“Open-ended approach and expansive freedom, Spalding, Brown and Mela are unafraid to venture into unfamiliar territory, forcing Weidman and Lovano to challenge their own concepts of expression.”

- After reading about Joe Lovano, Us Five I have realized that they are quickly rising group within the Jazz community, world wide. I have yet to read a bad review. And it’s really interesting how each place describes them positively in different ways.
- They are adventurous, influential, appealing, fearless, youthful, eclectic, full of character, fun and spontaneous.

Random Facts:
- Joe Lovano has a nickname of Cat in the Hat
- He has taught and has been a guest at many different colleges: William Patterson college, NYU, New school of jazz program, Guest clinician at Julliard, Manhatten school of music, and the new England conservatory of music, east man school of music, and university of Miami. Also has visited Belgian, France and Tokyo universities.
- Has named a few songs after influential people on Folk Art.
- Grammy Winner, nominated twice, won once.
- Want people to think Jazz in the folk art of America.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Through out brainstorming and thinking about what I'd like to concentrate for the semeseter in N.A. I was wanting to go two different ways. Either an informational way of seeing how women in the Middle East are decorating their own burkas, and how some younger women are completely designing their own with custom colors and different patterns. Another way is to build on the workshop that I did earlier this year in the Spring semester Frankie, from Liquid 9. I decided to make up my own company that made textiles. Due to additional information, I feel that the textile company would be a more accessible idea, rather than over stepping my boundaries with dealing with the way women dress in the middle east, even though it is a very interesting topic to me.

So, moving on to my brand-based narrative.

I will be making up my own design firm/company that either has their own textiles, or that makes items out of their textile line.

They are obviously a fun high end type of company, and I am really attracted to something like that. Although, I thought it'd be nice to have something that the average person could enjoy, due to me being that average person but still looking high end. So essentially, I have to ask myself what type of audience do I want to attract? Who am I competing with? What is my story? And, what exactly do we make?

After interning at Porter teleo this summer, and then also continuing my internship with them, I think will help me a lot in how I can see how an actual high end company is ran, and what sort of image they are portraying to their audience. I need to find something different about what I'm going to do, and make it special.